Yu Gi Oh! Gx Tag Force

Yu-Gi-Oh! is the Japanese Anime TCG phenomenon that escaped from the pages of Manga and found its way into a veritable plethora of branded crap. Over the years, several videogames have attempted to capture the spirit of the embarrassingly addictive 'duel monsters, ' dating back to the PS1 and possibly beyond. Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force is a moderately successful attempt to recreate the 'excitement' (I use that term loosely) of the most recent of the pervasive television series' incarnations.

The game recreates the actual card game quite well; with literally thousands of cards to collect and a diverse array of antagonists to conquer, there is nothing broken with the 'duel monsters' itself. However, the issues arise when one finds there is little to do beyond this well-executed game mechanic, and the game can become quickly tedious. Reading uninspired dialog boxes and walking around bland environments is, frankly, boring. The scope of the game is very limited for a severe chunk of its lifespan, restricting you to a few plain backdrops populated sparsely with a number of anime-styled sprites willing to duke it out with you.

The navigation graphics are passable at best, and one wonders why there couldn't have been a bit more 3D splashed around for good measure - however, the dueling visuals are crisp, and your foes will no longer be restricted to 2-dimensional hell when you witness them throwing down cards amongst other duel-related exercises.

Overall, if you are a Yu-Gi-Oh! aficionado who cannot live without the brands latest merch, I can see some hardcore appeal. However, in future titles I'd appreciate a well-developed storyline that extends further beyond the lines of the show, and a greater degree of freedom and exploration.